WA Legislature - Update
(March 8, 2025)

WA Legislature - Update (March 8, 2025) - Takeaways

As the Senate adjourned until Monday and no cannabis-related legislation was positioned for action in the House on Saturday, opportunities for five bills remaining in chamber rules committees had narrowed.

Here are some observations of the Washington State Legislature (WA Legislature) for Saturday March 8th, the 55th day of the 2025 regular session.

My top 2 takeaways:

  • A bill passed by the House had its first reading in the opposite chamber on Friday, and there were no introductions of cannabis-related legislation planned on Saturday.
    • The social equity program evaluation legislation passed by the House was introduced in the Senate on Friday and referred to the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (WA Senate LC) as planned.
      • HB 1551 - Social Equity Program Evaluation
        • At publication time, a public hearing on the bill had not been announced.
    • The draft introduction report in the House for Saturday March 8th did not appear to include new cannabis-related legislation, reflecting the complications besetting introduction of legislation after the House of Origin Policy and Fiscal Committee Cutoffs.
  • Senators decided not to convene over the weekend; after a very late night, the House was scheduled to convene floor sessions to debate and advance legislation in the late morning on Saturday, but neither of the two cannabis-related bills requiring movement in that chamber had been calendared.
    • 11am: WA House - Session
      • [ Floor Activity Report, TVW - Morning, TVW - Afternoon, TVW - Evening ]
      • After debating but ultimately not moving a firearms bill well past midnight, representatives opted to delay their planned start time of 9am.
      • At publication time, no cannabis-related bills were positioned for floor activity in the House.
      • Tellingly, House leadership did not pull a package of bills out of the Washington State House Rules Committee (WA House RUL) at the close of business early on Saturday morning most likely in part because 79 bills remained to be addressed on the chamber second reading calendar.  At publication time, two cannabis-related bills awaited calendaring in WA House RUL and neither appeared likely to be moved.
        • HB 1141 - Cannabis Production Unions
          • While advanced more rapidly than any other cannabis-related legislation at the beginning of the session—including bypassing fiscal committee consideration despite a fiscal note documenting hundreds of thousands of dollars in biennial costs—resistance from larger agricultural interests outside the cannabis sector helped bring this contentious legislation to a halt in WA House RUL where it remained unmoved since referral on January 24th.
        • HB 1341 - DOH Patient Data Sharing
          • As the identical companion SB 5700 had been calendared, it seemed likely the senate bill had been selected as the vehicle to advance the WSLCB agency request, and HB 1341 would likely remain in WA House RUL beyond the House of Origin cutoff on Wednesday March 12th.
        • If chamber leaders opted not to move either of the two remaining cannabis-related bills out of WA House RUL among the 289 other pieces of legislation vying for attention, then no additional floor activity would occur on cannabis-related legislation through the House of Origin cutoff.
    • At the conclusion of floor activity in the Senate on Friday afternoon, the chamber was adjourned until Monday at 10am.
      • At publication time, one cannabis-related bill was positioned for floor activity in the Senate on Monday.
      • At publication time, two adjacent bills were positioned for floor activity in the Senate.
        • SB 5067 - Alcohol BAC Limit and DUI
          • At publication time, there were no published amendments on the legislation.
        • SB 5290 - Pre-Hearing SUD Treatment
          • At publication time, there was one published amendment.
      • At publication time, three cannabis-related bills had been referred to the Washington State Senate Rules Committee (WA Senate RULE) and awaited inclusion in a package of legislation for consideration the following week.
      • For the remainder of the sprint to the House of Origin Cutoff on Wednesday March 12th at 5pm, WA Senate RULE members anticipated voting on packages of bills at the senate rostrum before floor sessions, during the lunch break, or after the conclusion of floor activities for each day.